{ "objects": [ { "Title": "Bankruptcy Attorneys", "Slug": "bankruptcy-attorneys", "Content": "

An individual who is filing, or has filed, for bankruptcy faces all manner of complex consumer financial issues. Many consumer cases present multiple venue choices, federal court, state court or bankruptcy court. Sometimes, in cases of more egregious consumer law violations, your client may recover enough funds to avoid filing a petition.<\/p>

The intersection of consumer laws for the bankruptcy client.<\/h4>
  1. Can your bankruptcy client file a case in bankruptcy court as well as federal district court?<\/strong> A debt collector violates the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act in one or more ways, but your client is in an active bankruptcy. Can he sue under the Act in federal district court, where the remedy may be better, as well as in bankruptcy court? The trend is decidedly a \u201cyes.\u201d He has a choice of forum. See Simon v FIA Card Services, N.A., 732 F.3d 259 (3d Cir. 2013)<\/em><\/li>\n
  2. A creditor files a Proof of Claim in bankruptcy court over a debt<\/strong> upon which the statute of limitations for collection has passed. Does this constitute a Fair Debt violation, which generally prohibits suits or threats of suit, upon a time-barred debt? After the 11th Circuit held \"yes\" in 2014, the trend has been decidedly against, holding that the mere filing of a proof of claim in bankruptcy court on a time-barred debt is not in itself a Fair Debt violation. Owens v LVNV Funding, LLC., 2016 WL 4207965 (7th Cir. Aug. 10, 2016)<\/em>
    The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to resolve the circuit split.  Midland Funding v. Johnson, No. 16-348 (U.S. October 11, 2016)<\/em><\/li>\n
  3. Both the husband and wife are co-mortgagors on their home mortgage loan<\/strong>. The husband, but not wife, filed for bankruptcy, but they continued making payments on time. The bank reports the mortgage loan as a zero balance.  The wife, who did not file for bankruptcy, may have a claim against the bank for reporting the zero balance and failing to report the post-bankruptcy payments made.  Horsh v. Wells Fargo Home Mortg., 94 F. Supp. 3d 665 (E.D. Pa. 2015)<\/em><\/li>\n
  4. A debt collector or collection law firm that continues to communicate with your bankruptcy client<\/strong> after being notified of your representation violates not only the Bankruptcy Code, but the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. 1692c(a). However, you need to determine, depending on the timing of the contact, whether this is an asset of the debtor or of the estate. While some Fair Debt claims yield only statutory damages of $1000, bear in mind that collector conduct with third parties creates actual damages for invasion of privacy and embarrassment. These are actual damage claims that may have a five or six figure value, and permit recovery of statutory attorney fees.<\/li>\n<\/ol>

    Your Consumer Protection Law Resource<\/strong><\/h3>

    If your client is a victim of inaccurate credit reporting, abusive collection tactics, the repossession of a vehicle, or unauthorized calls to their cell phone, contact us<\/strong><\/a> to discuss whether state or federal consumer protection laws may be able to provide some relief.<\/p>", "MetaDescription": "An individual who is filing, or has filed, for bankruptcy faces all manner of complex consumer financial issues. Many consumer cases present multiple venue choices, federal court, state court or bankruptcy court. Sometimes,\u00a0in\u00a0cases of more egregious consumer law violations, your client may recover enough funds to avoid filing a petition.", "publish_date": "2016-10-11 12:00:00" }, { "Title": "Family and Divorce Attorneys", "Slug": "family-and-divorce-attorneys", "Content": "

    Divorce and other family law issues can raise a host of complex financial issues for your consumer clients. Clients experiencing family law struggles are often the targets of financial frauds, medical debt collection harassment, and other abuses. However, state and federal consumer protection laws may be able to provide some relief. Proper representation of consumers requires an understanding of a web of federal and state statutes involving consumer credit, banking and lending, secured transactions, and consumer fraud. A deep knowledge of these regulations often makes the difference, from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Communications Commission, as well as the state Departments of Banking and Attorneys General.<\/p>

    Common Consumer Law Issues Facing Divorce Clients<\/strong><\/h3>
    1. In a divorce proceeding, the husband may agree to retain the car or truck and make all ongoing payments<\/strong>, and this is subsumed in the divorce settlement or decree. For a variety of reasons, the husband does not make ongoing payments, and this delinquency shows up on the ex-wife\u2019s credit report. Does the wife have any recourse to get her credit report corrected? Even though it is technically accurate as a matter of contract law - the wife owes the funds to the bank - the credit reporting laws require that the report not be presented in a misleading way or create a misimpression, so the credit bureaus have an obligation to not just parrot. See eg., Hillis v TransUnion, 969 F.Supp. 419 (E.D. Pa. 2013)<\/em><\/li>\n
    2. Both the husband and wife are co-mortgagors on their home mortgage loan<\/strong>. The husband, but not the wife, filed for bankruptcy. All monthly payments were made on time throughout. The bank reports the mortgage loan to the credit bureaus as a zero balance.  The wife, who did not file for bankruptcy, may have a claim against the bank for reporting the zero balance and failing to report the post-bankruptcy payments made. Although this may be technically accurate, the credit reporting law carries a higher standard. The wife may have a claim against the bank or credit bureau for the reporting because it can create a misimpression that the wife has filed bankruptcy.
      Horsh v. Wells Fargo Home Mortg., 94 F. Supp. 3d 665 (E.D. Pa. 2015)<\/em><\/li>\n
    3. Credit reports are private and may only be accessed for a \u201cpermissible purpose.\u201d<\/strong> A divorce proceeding is not a business transaction that constitutes a permissible purpose for one spouse\u2019s lawyer to obtain a consumer credit report on the other spouse, no matter how much useful financial data it would yield. A credit report authorization by the opposing spouse, or a court order, is required. See Cole v. American Family Mutual Ins. Co., 410 F.Supp.2d 1020 (D.Kan. 2006)<\/em><\/li>\n
    4. Where an abuser in a relationship obtains credit in the victim's name,<\/strong> current legal literature speaks of the concept of \u201ccoerced debt.\" The damage to the victim\u2019s credit score can be significant. Are there tools available under the federal consumer credit laws to redress the ensuing credit damage? See Escaping Battered Credit: A proposal for Repairing Credit Reports Damaged by Domestic Violence, 161 U.Pa. L.Rev. 363 (2013)<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>

      Your Consumer Protection Law Resource<\/strong><\/h3>

      Flitter Milz may be able to help you assist your client<\/strong> in these specialized areas of federal and state statutes and regulations. We understand consumer protection issues that arise during divorce cases, such as inaccurate credit reporting, debt collection abuse, harassing phone calls, vehicle repossession, and identity theft. If you have a client experiencing consumer protection problems, contact us<\/strong><\/a>. We may be able to help.<\/p>", "MetaDescription": "Divorce and other family law issues can raise a host of complex financial issues for your consumer clients. Clients experiencing family law struggles are often the targets\u00a0of financial frauds, medical debt collection harassment,\u00a0and other abuses. However, state and federal consumer protection laws may be able to provide some relief. Proper representation of consumers requires an understanding of a web of federal and state statutes involving consumer credit, banking and lending, secured transactions, and consumer fraud.", "publish_date": "1969-12-31 12:00:00" }, { "Title": "Personal Injury and Workers Compensation Attorneys", "Slug": "personal-injury-and-workers-compensation-attorneys", "Content": "

      An accident or serious injury can have devastating ramifications for the victim's finances. All of a sudden, a credit report is obtained, collectors begin to call, or a car is repossessed.<\/p>

      Your Consumer Protection Law Resource<\/strong><\/h3>

      If your client has been hurt and is feeling pressure from unfair collection practices, the repossession of a vehicle, or credit reporting issues, contact us<\/strong><\/a> to discuss state or federal consumer protection laws that may be able to provide some relief.<\/p>

      Below are some examples where consumer rights litigation often intersects with personal injury and workers\u2019 compensation law. <\/p>

      Your Client's Bill is Assigned to a Collection Agency<\/strong><\/p>

      After your client is injured in a car accident, the medical provider assigns the bill to a collection agency, even though the bill should be paid by a worker comp plan or a carrier. Does the collection agency have the right to obtain your client\u2019s credit report as part of its attempt to collect the debt from the worker? Probably, since the attempt to collect on an alleged obligation is a permissible purpose even if the claim later fails. Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 USC 1681b.<\/p>

      Notification of Legal Representation<\/strong><\/p>

      You notify a medical debt collector (A) that you represent your injured client, Mr. Smith, and that all future communications should be directed to you. The collector later sells or transfers the medical debt, alleged to be due to a new collection agency (B). Is collection agency B bound by the earlier representation letter you sent to collector A? The weight of authority is no; you have to notify each new collector of the representation. Conversely, each assignee collection agency must send out a fresh Notice of Validation Rights to the consumer, even if the predecessor collection agency did. Hernandez v. Williams, Zinman & Parham, PC., 829 F.3d 1068 (9th Cir. 2016).<\/em><\/p>

      Your Client's Credit Report is Obtained<\/strong><\/p>

      After your client is injured in a car accident with a drunk driver, his worker compensation insurance carrier obtains his credit report to investigate possible fraud or other income. Is this permissible because the client has placed his finances \"in issue\"? Probably not. Investigation of an insurance claim is generally not a proper purpose for a carrier to obtain a consumer credit report on a claimant. 15 U.S.C. 1681b<\/p>

      Ancillary Collection Charges<\/strong><\/p>

      A medical debt collector charges its hospital client a 10% commission and adds a $200 collection fee to an overdue medical bill of $2000. Is there anything you can do, other than complain that this charge was never agreed to? Yes. Collecting or attempting to collect ancillary amounts like this violates the Fair Debt law, unless the amount was agreed to or is expressly permitted by statute or other law. 15 U.S.C. 1692f.<\/p>", "MetaDescription": "An accident or serious injury can have devastating ramifications for the victim's finances. All of a sudden, a credit report is obtained, collectors begin to call, or a car is repossessed.Your Consumer Protection Law ResourceIf your client has been hurt and is feeling pressure from unfair collection practices, the repossession of a vehicle, or credit reporting issues, contact us to discuss state or federal consumer protection\u00a0laws that may be able to provide some relief.", "publish_date": "1969-12-31 12:00:00" }, { "Title": "Legal Aid Attorneys", "Slug": "legal-aid-attorneys", "Content": "

      Flitter Milz can help you, help your clients.<\/h2>

      Flitter Milz represents people in individual and class action lawsuits with legal problems involving consumer credit transactions.  This includes credit reporting, vehicle repossessions, collector abuse, and consumer protection.  Our firm evaluates whether a consumer's rights have been violated -- at no cost to the consumer. We spend the time that is necessary, often hundreds of hours and tens of thousands of dollars in expenses to tenaciously litigate a case that might otherwise over-burden the resources available to legal services programs.<\/p>

      Class Action Lawsuits and Cy Pres<\/em> Funds<\/strong><\/h3>

      Class action lawsuits<\/a> are ideal for many types of consumer law claims. This type of case seeks justice for an entire group of consumers who experienced the same type of illegal treatment. Often these cases have funds left over once the distribution period ends. These residual funds occur where class members can not be located, are incarcerated, have passed away, or simply failed to cash their settlement check.  Left over funds, with court approval, can be designated to an organization or non-profit with goals closely related to the goals of the class action lawsuit -- cy pres<\/em>, or \"next best\" distribution.<\/p>

      $2.5M in Cy Pres<\/em> Funds from Flitter Milz Class Actions<\/strong><\/h3>

      Our class action lawsuits have designated over $2.5M in undistributed, residual settlement funds. These cy pres<\/em> funds have been approved for distribution to Legal Aid Programs<\/a><\/a>, law school clinical programs and other consumer non-profits to serve the needs of their low-income consumer clients. <\/p>

      Contact Us<\/strong><\/a> to discuss your client's consumer law matter.  <\/p>

       <\/p>", "MetaDescription": null, "publish_date": "1969-12-31 12:00:00" } ] }